Answered questions

I am running because I would like to influence the political process in a small, albeit positive way. We have lost civility in our dialogue. We have sacrificed public service for personal enrichment. We have infused the process so that it's all about money; money to buy campaigns; money to buy influence and legislation; money for ME, ME, ME. In simple terms, it's time to raise the bar.

The sacrifice and public service of our founders has been replaced by people seeking bases of political influence and power that pay way above what they could earn in the private sector given their same experiential and skill sets. Interestingly, pay structures of many politicians are indexed, not reflecting today's reality of cutbacks and "shared sacrifice". Few seem moved by this, but those who do, I applaud. I feel genuine leadership starts with someone who's willing to be part of the solution by working alongside the rest of us who are going through a rough patch......not some self absorbed person who will talk in platitudes about his/her commitment to excellence and sacrifice, yet unwilling or unable to bring either to the table.

The other reason I decided to run is that it gives me the platform to discuss issues of importance within our County, like hunger, homelessness, and abused, abandoned and neglected children. Perhaps if I'm elected, opportunities to address these issues, and the need for more citizens to volunteer and engage, will be more numerous.

I am running for re-election to continue to serve the citizens of Indian River County in the most economical way utilizing new ideas and advanced technology to enhance one-stop shopping with exceptional customer service in the Tax Collector’s office.

I have had the great opportunity of serving the residents of Indian River County as a County Commissioner from 2002-2006. I take great pride in community service and the office of Tax Collector is all about customer service. This year the residents of Indian River County will have the oppourtunity to elect their Tax Collector, someting the general public did not have in 2008.

The thing you learn when you have a broad financial management background in the private sector like mine, 1st as a CPA, and then later in differing managerial contexts, is the ability to critically analyze operations. This includes systems, personnel, information technology, etc. That would be mission #1. The concept of zero based budgeting is that mentally you take everything apart and then see if you can rebuild it so that it is more efficient. This should be done with the assistance of key staff and with input from all, keeping in mind that while we want to continue to improve the customer experience, we need to continue to look for ways to streamline operations.

Figuring out how to drive more transactions through the internet, I think, is an imperative. Another is to study workloads by month and office, to detect if there are any obvious trends that could be improved upon by flexible staffing, ala McDonald's, which periodically time studies its’ inside and drive thru operations to see how they can be improved. Implementing scheduled appointments via the internet might also prove to be a more efficient way of expediting the handling of customers, especially those elderly or with medical or handicap needs, or more difficult technical issues.

Absolutely and unequivocally NOT. Especially not in these times where real people are being asked to sacrifice, not only with lower pay and benefits, but with increased workloads. And these are citizens with meaningful social jobs, like teachers, police officers, first responders, social workers dealing with children, substance abuse victims, etc. etc. Dollars "saved" at the altar of fiscal expediency will come back to cost us huge in the future in unemployable and an ever growing prison populations. But, what makes this all even more ludicrous, is that this is a job where the bulk of the heavy lifting is done by the staff. Let me venture a wild guess.....this answer differs from my opponents!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I also feel that most all the other positions, from County Commissioner to Constitutional Offices, are likewise too generous and should be reduced (heck, Commissioner jobs are part time, with most of them holding other employment simultaneously). And you don't want to get me started on the County Administrator's salary.
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This is what drove me crazy and prompted me to run. That people who would be unqualified and embarrassed to submit a resume to apply for a job as senior staffer in this department if it were a private sector job, would somehow feel entitled to be the manager AND receive a super sized political annuity because they are a "good old Indian River County" politician whose main qualification is being able to raise large amounts of campaign financing to buy signs...........you've got to visit my website (www.BarryBarnard.com) and play the "Mad As Hell" clip from the movie Network. This is why government doesn't work as well or as efficiently as the private sector. There is no qualification screening process for election. No merit factor. Just BIG EGO and a sense of entitlement.

I do have a broad financial management background with the requisite qualifications that would merit serious consideration for any such position in the private sector. More importantly, I have pledged to do this job for a $40,000 reduction of the bloated mandated salary and benefits ( $20,000 directly to the County; $20,000 to charity ). I admit this is a little extreme and is less than what the actual value of the job may be, but it serves to make my point that we must develop leadership personnel from a pool of qualified, concerned citizens sensitive to the plight of their constituents.

Re: the question of the pay system. I think a new system is needed. It should be one that is based on a formula, but like the private sector where salaries go down when profits go down (we're talking small business owners, not Wall Street bankers or hedge fund managers here). Call me crazy, but a simple solution would be to reduce official pay commensurate with the decrease in the budget they administer. Now, they share. How can they argue when their shrinking pay is reflected by their shrinking domain. I would go one step farther and say this adjustment should be made retroactive to when we started budget cutting.

I do believe the salary is appropriate for the position. The office carries a great responsibility to the residents of Indian River County. I have no problem with the State setting the salary structure for the office. I am proud to have been involved in the drafting of HB 19 which Representative Mayfield brought forward and had passed in the State Legislative session allowing elected officials to take a cut in their salary.

I'm a proponent of compensation being based upon performance, responsibility, initiative and contribution to the overall level of departmental cooperation and achievement. However, just as there are times when we all must face cuts due to economic circumstances, I've witnessed other economic cycles where standard of living increases were necessary to offset inflationary trends. In all things, I think a good manager remains flexible and attuned to the the economic trends he/she is faced with and is sensitive to the individual and collective needs of his/her employees.

Having been in business for myself the last 15 years as owner of the Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home and Crematory and having been in the funeral business as a second generation funeral director working for different funeral homes, I have always based employees’ salaries on job performance.

This is somewhat vague, and so I'm going to make some assumptions that seem to have escaped the other 2 candidates, lest they, too, were confused, or just don't want to ruffle any "good old boy feathers". I wouldn't think the question refers to Pres. Obama (Federal gov't) or Gov. Scott (State gov't). Our office is a county office, hence you must be referring to the County Manager, who would be our chief executive.

Back in question 3, I facetiously said "to not even get me started on the County Administrator's salary." But now you have, and I shall be forthcoming.

In my opinion, Joe Baird, whom I've never met, is a total embarrassment to the County he serves. He could serve as the poster child for inappropriate behavior. The fact that he is the highest paid public employee in the county also casts suspicion on the competency of the County Commissioners who supposedly supervise him.

As a private sector board chairman, I would have Mr. Baird in my office on my first day, explaining to him the current facts of his economic dilemma. Firstly, he would be put on probation and his salary would be reduced $3,000 per month. Secondly, if he didn't enter and successfully complete a behavioral modification program that would include anger and substance (abuse) counseling within a reasonable period of time, he would be terminated. Thirdly, he would publicly apologize to those he confronted and belittled. And lastly, if he grumbled or whined or otherwise acted in any manner other than that of a contrite gentleman, he could begin packing his belongings and commencing his new job search immediately.

Regardless of how bright he is, and I sure as heck hope he's bright or our commissioners are totally clueless, there are many others out there who could fill his job just as well, if not better, and would be willing to do so for less money and with less attendant baggage. Furthermore, if he truly was a good manager, he hired and groomed an assistant who should be fully capable and qualified to stand in and either replace him, or at least hold things together until a capable replacement can be found.

Frankly, if elected, I will make it a point to attend and address the County Commission on its’ next meeting suggesting that the above action be taken unless I’m presented with other facts of an extenuating nature to the contrary. I will also call upon those same commissioners to do the right thing and voluntarily take minimum 10% pay cut effective immediately for the reasons I’ve already covered. That this has nothing to do with the operation of the Tax Collector's Office is offset by the realization that my being elected on such a quixotic platform will be intuitive acknowledgement that the electorate would like for me occasionally articulate some of their concerns when I’m not busy selling license plates.

I've got to be honest, I don't have a clue as to what my FICO score is. I hope this doesn’t make me a bad person. Frankly, I'm not sure it's relevance is to this race, or any race for that matter. Is this going to be a new voter registration requirement....a candidate screening technique. One more factor to cut down on the illegals. I'll inquire into mine, but........show you mine if you show me yours? Nah! Bad question.

Unanswered questions

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Q8. Please give an example of how you have supported the Sunshine or public records laws